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Consumer concern for broiler welfare has increased interest in chicken from slower growing (SG) broiler strains. Broilers from SG strains take longer to reach market weight, which may necessitate differences in management practices, such as stocking density. This study evaluated the effects of 2 stocking densities on production performance, body conformation, and welfare of broilers from 2 strains. Broilers from strains that reach market weight at age 42 D (CONV; N = 284) and at 63 D (SG; N = 284) were exclusively stocked into pens at a density of either 29 kg/m2 or 37 kg/m2. Birds were provided the same starter, grower, and finisher diets with diet phase changes occurring when SG bird body weight (BW) matched CONV. Live BW, body length, pelvic width, shank length, shank width, keel length, breast width, and breast depth were collected at 4 phases: Phase 1—chick placement, Phase 2—starter, Phase 3—grower, and Phase 4—finisher. At Phase 4, footpad dermatitis (FPD), hock burn (HB), and toe damage (TD) were scored. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) and mortality for each pen were recorded throughout the study. Final BW was similar (2.68 kg) for both strains and stocking densities of birds (P > 0.05). CONV bird FCR was 35% more efficient than SG (P

Stress and leg weakness are detrimental to broiler production, health, and welfare. Traditional methods to evaluate stress may be stressful to the bird because they are invasive and require handling and restraint. Two studies examined the effects of light intensity and flooring on the following in broilers: 1) traditional methods for assessing stress using heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratios and serum corticosterone (CORT) concentrations, 2) noninvasive measures of stress from infrared thermography (IRT) eye and beak surface temperatures, and 3) latency-to-lie (LTL) test times of birds tested individually and in groups of 5. Day-of-hatch male broiler chicks were placed into 6 pens (N = 120 chicks/pen). At 1 wk, pens were allocated to 3 light intensity treatments (2, 5, or 10 lux). At 4 wk, half of the birds from each pen were moved to a pen with wire flooring and the same light intensity. At 1, 4, 5, and 8 wk, blood samples were collected and IRT images of the heads of 5 clinically healthy broilers from each pen were captured. In study 2, IRT images of the heads of birds that became lame in the wire flooring pens were taken. There were no treatment effects on the LTL times of birds tested in groups or individually (P > 0.05). On day 56 in study 1, birds on wire flooring had elevated heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratios and CORT concentrations (P ≤ 0.002) and depressed IRT eye and beak temperatures (P

Farm animal welfare has become an increasing area of consumer and customer interest globally and this has resulted in dramatic changes related to on-farm accountability. Some markets are demanding an on-farm, transparent and accountable animal welfare programme. Knowing what key elements are required is critical. Key elements range from (a) caretaker qualities; (b) record keeping and standard operating procedures; (c) animal- and resource-based measures; (d) communication to (e) caretaker empowerment. The ultimate on-farm welfare programme goal is to provide the highest animal care. This review will provide context to these key elements that in turn can be used to create or improve on-farm animal welfare programmes.

Footpad dermatitis (FPD), damage and inflammation of the plantar surface of the foot, is of concern for poultry because FPD affects the birds' welfare and production value. Footpad dermatitis is painful and causes costly chicken paw downgrades, carcass condemnations, and reduced live weights. However, a universal preventative has not been found. The hypothesis was that diets containing orange corn, when compared with diets containing yellow or white corn, would reduce the severity of footpad dermatitis in broiler chickens on wet litter. When compared with yellow and white corn, orange corn contains higher quantities of carotenoids, antioxidant pigments, believed to play a role in skin and feather health. This experiment was a randomized block, 3 × 2 factorial design: orange, yellow, and white corn diets with birds raised on wet or dry litter (control group). Female Ross 708 broilers (n = 960) were used to create 4 replicates of each diet x litter treatment combination. Footpads were scored at day 19, 27, 35, and 42, following the Global Animal Partnership standard's 0-2 scale of visual increasing severity: 0 indicates minimal damage and 1 and 2 indicate mild to severe lesions and ulceration, dark papillae, and/or bumble foot. At 42 d of age, birds on the wet litter had greater severity of FPD, scores 1 and 2, compared with the control group (88 vs. 13% respectively; P < 0.0001). At 42 d of age, prevalence of more severe footpad scores, 1 or 2, was lowest on the orange corn diet (33%), followed by white corn (56%) and yellow corn (63%). Birds fed the orange corn diet had higher BW throughout the study (P = 0.004) and had fat pads and livers with higher yellow pigment deposition (P < 0.005). Litter moisture content altered microbiome composition but corn type did not. In conclusion, the main determinant of FPD in this study was exposure to wet litter. When compared with yellow and white corn, orange corn was associated with improved bird growth and reduced severity of footpad dermatitis, especially at later time points.

There are potential advantages for using noninvasive methods instead of conventional approaches for measuring corticosterone (CORT) as a metric of stress. Two studies compared blood heterophil: lymphocyte (H:L) ratios, serum CORT, cecal content CORT (Study 1), colon content CORT (Study 2), and feather CORT concentrations for broiler chicks receiving drinking water with or without added CORT. On day 28, male broilers (N = 140) were provided tap water (Control group) or water containing 20 mg/L of CORT (CORT group) for up to 72 h. Body weight (BW), blood, feather, cecal, and colon content samples were collected from 10 birds from each treatment group at 0, 6, 12, 24, 30, 48, and 72 h. Data were analyzed with a JMP Pro ANOVA. Mean comparisons were analyzed on significant treatment effects using post hoc t-tests to compare control and CORT measures within each sampling time point. Pearson's pairwise correlations for all data were performed. A treatment by time interaction affected all measures in both studies. In both studies, CORT treatment reduced body weight and increased H:L ratios at later time points. In study 1 cecal content CORT concentrations were elevated with CORT treatment after 24 h, whereas in study 2 colon content CORT concentrations were elevated after 6 h. CORT treatment increased body and primary feather CORT and primary feather CORT increased with time in control groups in both studies. Serum CORT exhibited the lowest variability compared with all other sample sources used for determining CORT. Estimates of CORT by different methods were positively correlated. These results indicate that serum CORT concentrations most reliably reflect the CORT status of broilers, and that feather CORT concentrations demonstrated potential for estimating stress in broilers.

Many laying hen companies in the United States are pledging to move away from intensive conventional cages to extensive housing systems. Enriched colony cages (ECC) are a practical alternative to conventional cage systems. Scientific research is limited on the effects of ECC on hen production and welfare. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of stocking density on welfare and performance with the overall outcome to provide guidance on stocking density for ECC. At 16 wk, W-36 pullets were placed into 2 commercial ECC housing systems. Within each ECC enclosure, hens were allocated into 1 of 6 stocking densities: A) 465 to 484 cm2/bird, B) 581 to 606 cm2/bird, C) 652 to 677 cm2/bird, D) 754 to 780 cm2/bird, E) 799 to 832 cm2/bird, and F) 923 to 955 cm2/bird. Body weight, egg production, mortality, and Welfare Quality data were collected each 28 d period from 17 to 68 wk. The 6 ECC stocking densities had several transient effects on production measures within age periods with no difference in hen-day production (P > 0.05). Body weight was affected by stocking density (P < 0.05) where hens raised at stocking density A (465 to 484 cm2/bird) weighed at least 25 g less than hens from other stocking densities. Stocking density differences for Welfare Quality assessments were only apparent for feather coverage. Hens raised at stocking density A (465 to 484 cm2) consistently had the poorest (P < 0.05) crop, keel, belly, back, and rump feather coverage. The keel, neck, and back body regions had poorer feather coverage when hens were raised at stocking densities B (581 to 606 cm2) and C (652 to 677 cm2) compared to hens from lower stocking densities (P < 0.05). Therefore, the minimum area per hen housed in commercial ECC systems should be 754 cm2 per bird for greater feather coverage.

Bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) is a leading cause of lameness in broilers. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a noninvasive technique for measuring infrared radiation from an object and can be used to evaluate clinical health. Two replicated studies compared the effect of light intensity on broilers grown on a wire flooring model that experimentally increased their susceptibility to and incidence of BCO lameness. Day-of-hatch male broiler chickens were placed into 6 pens on wood shavings litter, and at 1 wk one of 3 light intensity treatments (2, 5, or 10 lux) was allotted. At 4 wk half of the population from each pen was moved to a pen with wire flooring and the same light intensity. At 1, 4, 5, and 8 wk, an IRT image of the legs of 5 clinically healthy broilers from each pen was taken. The right and left proximal femora and tibiae of sound and lame broilers were scored for femoral head necrosis (FHN) and tibial head necrosis (THN) lesion severity. There were minimal effects of light intensity and flooring. In Study 1, but not Study 2, broilers on wire flooring weighed less on day 38 (P = 0.007) and days 57 to 58 (P = 0.003) compared to those on litter. The proportion of broilers that became lame on wire flooring was 52% in Study 1 and 14% in Study 2. The proportion of sound broilers from litter and wire flooring pens with subclinical signs of BCO in their right or left proximal growth plates was over 45% for FHN and 92% for THN, and lame broilers had more severe (P < 0.0001) FHN and THN compared to sound broilers. IRT surface temperatures of the hock joint, shank, and foot were consistently lower (P < 0.0001) in broilers that became lame when compared to sound. Therefore, IRT surface temperatures of broiler leg regions may be useful for detecting lesions attributed to BCO.

On-farm welfare assessments have included animal-human interaction tests as an animal-based measure. Currently, the U.S. swine industry’s assessment program does not use include this test due to reliability concerns. The objective of this study was to build a device that would capture pig behaviors and proximity so that live human observation and digital image evaluation methods could be compared. A total of 27 pens housing ~10 pigs/pen, aged 7, 8-or 9-wk. Two methodology treatments were compared: TRT One; live human observation and TRT Two; digital image evaluation. For proximity (cm) from the observer’s index finger to each nursery pig, three treatments were compared; TRT One; “touch”, TRT Two; “look”, and TRT Three; “not.” Data were analyzed using the PROC GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Data for “not” postures and behaviors will be presented descriptively. Data used to evaluate snout and tail base proximity to the observer’s index finger were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS. There were no (P > 0.05) differences between pigs classified in “touch”, “look”, and “not” categories between live human observation and digital image evaluation. There were no (P > 0.05) differences between pig sexes when classified as “touch”, “look”, and “not” within live human observation or digital image evaluation. More (P = 0.02) 8-wk old pigs touched the human than 7 and 9-wk old pigs, respectively, using the live human observation method but there were no (P > 0.05) differences between age of pig classified in “touch”, “look”, and “not” categories for digital image evaluation. The majority of pigs classified as “not” regardless of sex and age were standing, followed by sitting and head in feeder. The snout anatomical location for pigs classified as “touch” was closest (P < 0.0001) to the observer’s index finger, followed by “look” and “not.” The tail base for pigs classified as “touch” were closest (P < 0.0001) to the observer’s index finger than for

It is important that when an owner decides to relinquish their canine that the information provided on the forms are accurate and not conflicting in detail. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (1) identify the top three issues for why a canine is relinquished, (2) report on the percentage of canines relinquished due to the recession and, (3) identify the percentage of canines relinquished for behavioral related issues at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. The top three issues for owner relinquishment for canines at the ARL were 1) too many animals (13.4 %), 2) moving (12.1 %) and 3) found-cannot keep (9.0 %) respectively. Owner relinquishment due to “cannot afford” for 2008 on average was 8.3 %. However, the second half of the year (July to December) had a much higher average percentage of relinquishments per month (10.7 %) than the first half of the year (January to June; 6%). Overall, owner relinquishment due to “cannot afford” for 2008 was 8.3 %. Of the 1,947 canine relinquishment cases that were included in this retrospective study, 96 % of those dogs were relqinuisehd with “non-behavior related relinquishmetns” and 4 % were “behavior related relinquishments.” Therefore in conclusion, the top three issues given by the owners for why a canine was relinquished at the ARL of Iowa was not behaviorally related. The 2008 recession did seem to affect the number of canine relinquishments with more dogs entering the ARL of Iowa in the second half of 2008 with “cannot afford” noted by their owners as the main reason.

Over the last two decades, many animal shelters have employed behavior evaluations on a selection of canines prior to their adoption to (1) more accurately match the canine with the owner / family and (2) to reduce the probability that canines displaying aggression will not be placed up for adoption. Therefore, the objectives of this study was to (1) determine how successful canines were after completing the behavior test with being adopted and (2) if canines were returned to the shelter if reasons given related to an aggressive citation by the new owner. This study was performed at the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Iowa, located in Ankeny, IA. All canine behavior evaluations were conducted on a weekly basis (Friday afternoons) from the last week of January through the first week of April 2009. A standardized form for all canine behavior evaluations was used. The canine adoption information was collected on three separate occasions; April 1st, 22nd and 29th, 2009. The program used to find adoption information was PetPoint. A total of 41 canines were observed. Thirty-three canines were successfully adopted (87 %) and five were adopted but returned (13 %). Of these five canines returned, only one (20%) reason noted “aggression towards cat.” In conclusion, the majority of canines that underwent and passed the behavior evaluation were successful in their adoption. Furthermore, of the five canines returned after being placed for adoption, only one was linked to some form of aggression.